Silicon Earth Introduction to Microelectronics and Nanotechnology, Second Edition

We are in the center of the most life-changing technological revolution the Earth has ever known. In little more than 65 years, an eye-blink in human history, a single technological invention has launched the proverbial thousand ships, producing the most sweeping and pervasive set of changes ever to wash over humankind; changes that are reshaping the very core of human existence, on a global scale, at a relentlessly accelerating pace. And we are just at the very beginning. Silicon Earth: Introduction to Microelectronics and Nanotechnology introduces readers with little or no technical background to the marvels of microelectronics and nanotechnology, using straightforward language, an intuitive approach, minimal math, and lots of pictures. The general scientific and engineering underpinnings of microelectronics and nanotechnology are described, as well as how this new technological revolution is transforming a broad array of interdisciplinary fields, and civilization as a whole. Special "widget deconstruction" chapters address the inner workings of ubiquitous micro/nano-enabled pieces of technology, such as smartphones, flash drives, and digital cameras. Completely updated and upgraded to full color, the Second Edition: Includes new material on the design of electronic systems, the future of electronics, and the societal impact of micro/nanotechnology Provides new widget deconstructions of cutting-edge tech gadgets like the GPS-enabled smartwatch Adds end-of-chapter study questions and hundreds of new color photos Silicon Earth: Introduction to Microelectronics and Nanotechnology, Second Edition is a pick-up-and-read-cover-to-cover book for those curious about the micro/nanoworld, as well as a classroom-tested, student-and-professor-approved text ideal for an undergraduate-level university course. Lecture slides, homework examples, a deconstruction project, and discussion threads are available via an author-maintained website.

The Communications RevolutionThe Big PictureThe Evolution of Human CommunicationsDoomsday ScenariosGlobal Information FlowEvolutionary Trends: Moore’s LawSilicon: The Master EnablerMicro/Nanoelectronics at the State of the Art: Nanoscale CMOSA Parting ShotTime Out: Gut Check on Your ComprehensionReferences and Notes A Matter of ScaleThe Tyranny of Numbers"Seeing" versus "Imaging" the InfinitesimalThe Distance Scale of the UniverseThe Micro/Nanoelectronics Distance ScaleThe Time and Frequency Scales of Micro/NanoelectronicsThe Temperature and Energy Scales of Micro/NanoelectronicsSeeing Is Believing?Time Out: Gut Check on Your ComprehensionReferences and Notes Innumerable Biographies: A Brief History of the FieldWhat History Can Teach UsThe Uniqueness of MicroelectronicsThe Shoulders We Stand On: Some Giants of Electrical EngineeringThe Invention/Discovery of the TransistorNewsflash!How the West Was WonThe Integrated CircuitNot Invented HereThe Rest of the StoryTime Out: Gut Check on Your ComprehensionReferences and Notes Widget Deconstruction #1: SmartphoneWith a Broad BrushNuts and BoltsWhere Are the Integrated Circuits and What Do They Do?Time Out: Gut Check on Your ComprehensionReferences and Notes Semiconductors: Lite!What Are Semiconductors?What Makes Semiconductors So Special?Types of SemiconductorsCrystal StructureEnergy BandsElectrons and Holes in SemiconductorsDopingDrift and Diffusion TransportCarrier DriftCarrier DiffusionGeneration and RecombinationThe Semiconductor Equations of StateTime Out: Gut Check on Your ComprehensionReferences Widget Deconstruction #2: USB Flash DriveWith a Broad BrushNuts and BoltsHard Disk DrivesRAMROMFlash MemoryWhere Are Integrated Circuits and What Do They Do?Time Out: Gut Check on Your ComprehensionReferences and Notes Bricks and Mortar: Micro/Nanoelectronics FabricationThe IC Fabrication Facility (aka "the Cleanroom")Crystal Growth and EpitaxySemiconductor CrystalsEpitaxyDoping: Diffusion, Implantation, and AnnealingOxidation and Film DepositionEtching and PolishingPhotolithographyMetalization and InterconnectsBuilding a TransistorIC Packaging: Wirebonds, Cans, DIPs, and Flip-Chips3D ICs, TSVs, and SoPsReliabilityTime Out: Gut Check on Your ComprehensionReferences Transistors: Lite!The Semiconductor Device MenagerieWhy Are Transistors So Darn Useful?LossGainThe pn JunctionWhat Is It?How Does It Work?What Does It Do for You?The BJTWhat Is It?How Does It Work?What Does It Do for You?The MOSFETWhat Is It?How Does It Work?What Does It Do for You?X-Men TransistorsHBTsHFETsTime Out: Gut Check on Your ComprehensionReferences and Notes From Transistors to Circuits to SystemsBuilding Circuits and Systems from TransistorsIC Tape-Out: Machines Designing MachinesSoftwareTime Out: Gut Check on Your ComprehensionReferences Microtools and Toys: MEMS, NEMS, and BioMEMSMicro-Intuition and the Science of MiniaturizationMEMS ClassificationsA Grab Bag of MEMS ToysMicromachining SiliconBulk MicromachiningSurface MicromachiningCool App #1: MEMS AccelerometersCool App #2: MEMS Micromirror DisplaysCool App #3: BioMEMS and Lab-on-a-ChipSo What Comes Next?Time Out: Gut Check on Your ComprehensionReferences and Notes Widget Deconstruction #3: GPSWith a Broad BrushA Brief History of GPSNuts and BoltsWhere Are the Integrated Circuits and What Do They Do?Time Out: Gut Check on Your Comprehension References and Notes Let There Be Light: The Bright World of PhotonicsLet There Be Light!Spectral WindowsGetting Light In and Out of SemiconductorsOptical AbsorptionOptical EmissionDirect versus Indirect Bandgap MaterialsPhotodetectors and Solar CellsPhotodetectorsSolar CellsCCD Imagers, CMOS Imagers, and the Digital CameraCCD ImagersCCD versus CMOS ImagersLEDs, Laser Diodes, and Fiber OpticsLEDsSemiconductor Laser DiodesOptical GainFeedbackLaser Perks, Drawbacks, and Future DirectionsFiber OpticsCDs, DVDs, and Blu-RayTime Out: Gut Check on Your Comprehension References and Notes The Future of ElectronicsDarwinian Evolution in Micro/Nanoelectronics, and the End of the Silicon RoadCarbon Engineering: Buckyballs, Nanotubes, and GrapheneForsaking Group IV: Zinc Oxide and Black PhosphorusBend and Flex: The World of OrganicsFerroelectric Memory, Memristors, Phase Change Memory, and SpintronicsQuantum ComputingTime Out: Gut Check on Your Comprehension References The Nanoworld: Fact and FictionNanotechSay What You Mean and Mean What You Say: Nanotech DefinitionsEmerging Nanoapps and Humans 2.0Time Out: Gut Check on Your Comprehension References and Notes Societal ImpactThe Internete-AddictionsComputer GamingGenomicse-EducationSocial Mediae-PoliticsEnvironmental Impacte-Books and LibrariesA Grab Bag of IssuesTime Out: Gut Check on Your ComprehensionReferences Appendix A: Properties of Silicon Appendix B: Some Basic Concepts from Physics and Electrical Engineering Appendix C: A Grab-Bag Glossary of Useful Techno-Geek Terms and Acronyms

John D. Cressler earned his BS from Georgia Tech in 1984 and his PhD from Columbia University in 1990. From 1984 to 1992, he was on the research staff at the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center, and from 1992 to 2002 he served on the faculty at Auburn University. An IEEE fellow, he joined the faculty at Georgia Tech in 2002, and is currently Schlumberger Chair Professor in Electronics in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Dr. Cressler has published a number of nonfiction and historical fiction books. Together with his students, he has published more than 700 scientific papers. He has received the 2010 Class of 1940 W. Howard Ector Outstanding Teacher Award (Georgia Tech’s top teaching award), 2011 IEEE Leon Kirchmayer Graduate Teaching Award (the IEEE’s top graduate teaching award), and Class of 1934 Distinguished Professor Award (the highest honor Georgia Tech bestows on its faculty).